Karachi and Lahore schools bag victory at the Math Challenge 2018

One Lahore school and two Karachi schools ruled in the final round of the nationwide Math quiz competition organized by Dawn and EDeQUAL.

The competition was held at the Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL) where 7,500 mathletes competed for the title of National Math Champion. Lahore Grammar School, The City School and Happy Home School secured top ranks in the competition this year and winners were awarded cash prizes, certificates, plaques and mobile phones.

The final round consisted of 24 teams in two segments. The first segment was for students from grades seven and eight, while the second segment was for students in grades nine and ten. The top 12 teams in each segment were challenged with mathematical questions of varying levels of difficulty. The competition was divided into two parts – Speed Quiz and Jeopardy.

Image source: https://www.dawn.com

The format of the competition was like that of a live game show with the use of the latest quiz technology systems; students made use of tablets and computers to solve math problems and work out analytical challenges.

In the Speed Quiz students were asked rapid fire questions about complex mathematical problems. There were eight questions for each group of 12 teams.

In the Jeopardy segment, a student-duo was selected based on the order of regional round wins and given a two-minute duration to solve a complex math problem. There were 24 questions for each group of 12 teams in this segment. If the selected team failed to give the correct answer in the time allotted, the challenge would open the question to the floor for an additional one minute. The winning team was decided based on the cumulative scores of the Speed Quiz and Jeopardy segments.

The National Champions of the Math Challenge 2018 from Group 1 were Lahore Grammar School boys (Johar Town branch, Lahore) while there was a tie in Group 2 between The City School (North Nazimabad, Karachi) and Happy Home School (Karachi).

Habib Girls School (Karachi) was the first runners-up from Group 1 and EMS School (Islamabad) was the first runners-up from Group 2.

EMS School (Islamabad) was the second runners-up from Group 1 and Beaconhouse Cambridge School was the second runners-up from Group 2.

The City School (North Nazimabad, Karachi) and Chenab College (Jhang) consistently remained in the lead throughout the competition, while the Karachi Grammar School (KGS) made the maximum number of attempts but failed to deliver correct answers in the Jeopardy segment.

The Math Challenge 2018 was sponsored by MCB-Arif Habib Savings and Investments Ltd., Alif Ailaan, Uniferoz and Pakistan Alliance for Math and Science. In addition, Alif Ailaan assisted in bringing students from Peshawar to the event in order to provide them with exposure and experience of such large-scale competitions and educational platforms.